Got an old pair of shoes you’re about to throw out? Don’t…!
For my Series 1, I have a long wrench that grabs the two eared
knock-offs but I did not want to bong up the nice new chrome
when I get ready to put new ones on so I used some leather from
a worn out pair of shoes.
I cut some of the leather to fit on the insides of the portion of the
wrench that grips the ears. Once I got the fit I liked, I soaked the
leather in water to make it a bit more workable and fitted it on
the portion of the wrench that was metal-to-metal. I then used so
small paper clips (the spring type) to hold the leather until the
water dried. Next, a bit of contact cement on the leather pieces
and the wrench. Now - no metal-to-metal contact when The wrench
is on the knock-off.
Mike O’----- Original Message -----
From: “Ray Livingston” rayl@atc.creative.com
To: e-type@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Thursday, July 24, 2003 11:32 PM
Subject: Re: [E-Type] Best knock off removal tool?
In reply to a message from davchr sent Fri 25 Jul 2003:
Dave,
CLIP
. The metal tools will damage the knock-offs far more
easily than a lead mallet,
Ray Livingston
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
In reply to a message from davchr sent Fri 25 Jul 2003:
Dave,
Item #1 may work – but I have heard that the wood (plywood?)
splinters pretty easily, and may not last for more than a few uses.
Item #2 would better be described this way: grabs the ears and
bends when you try to apply enough pressure to unscrew them. I
bought one of these when I switched from Series 2 ‘‘federalized’’
knock-offs to the earlier type. I have found a 4# lead hammer from
Moss Motors to work very well.
Pascal has fabricated a billet aluminum device for this job which
apparently works very well. It has a removeable handle that
permits it to be carried in the spare wheel compartment of his
2+2. (Picture, Pascal?)
Regards,
Warren–
The original message included these comments:
I am sure that this has been discussed before. I really don’t like
beating on my knock offs with a lead hammer. I see that there are
at least two tools that will eliminate the need to beat them up.
Protective knock-off tool - fits over the tow ears and you beat
on the tool.
‘‘British Wheel Wrench’’ - grabs the ears and allows you to
unscrew them without beating.
Which one is better? I am leaning toward the wrench because it
eliminates the beating operation all together.
In reply to a message from Paul Bjarnason sent Fri 25 Jul 2003:
Less danger of hitting your fender with the early two-eared style
than with the dang three-eared federalized ones! With the latter
you also have to hold the wrench in place, which wants to fly off
with each blow, giving you the added problem of avoiding hitting
your fingers! If God didn’t want E-Type spinners to be removed
with a hammer he wouldn’t have made the car with splined hubs!
Regards,
Warren–
The original message included these comments:
I purchased the British Wheel Wrench and it marred my knock-offs! As
far as I am concerned, the lead hammer is the only way to go. The lead
hammer will not mar your knock offs, but I can’t say the same if you hit
your fender with it! ;-))
In reply to a message from Pascal Gademer sent Fri 25 Jul 2003:
If it takes 10 solid whacks to get’m off…the answer is
simple…they were put on too tight…In my years of Jag-whackage,
I’ve never smacked a fender (watch out, Tweety, now that I’ve
said THAT!!!) and with a good 5 pounder, it only take 3-5 whacks
and they’re OFF…like a cheap prom dress…
And, if I had an ‘earless’ car, there would be FLAMES comin’ out
my rear end to get eared knock offs on it!!!..;)–
The original message included these comments:
problem withthe hammer isn’t the marks it left it’s the amount of energy it
takes. sometimes they dont’ come off right away and aftert 10 hits in the
hot sun…
–
Paul Wigton, whom Tweety rules!
Brighton, CO, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Ray,
Then you and I should switch hammers. My dead blow hammer looks new after several years of use, similar to your car. My car looks like hell so I should have your matching hammer Honestly I do intend to buy a lead hammer when I run across one at a meet somewhere but the dead blow doesn’t seem to care about the small surface of the knock off… so far. A side benefit is I swung wildly by a fraction of an inch once and all it did to my car was put a black skid mark on the fender, which I wiped off as soon as I looked around to make sure nobody was watching… I wouldn’t have been so lucky with any other type of hammer. I will say that I believe the hard rubber surface absorbs some of the shock that aids in getting these things loose. That’s why I intend to get a lead hammer as a back up but will always try with the dead blow first. It doesn’t scratch knock offs, might not scratch your fender
pauls 67ots
In reply to a message from David Kerr sent Fri 25 Jul 2003:
I don't believe a lead mallet is any more likely to damage the
knock-off than a plastic dead-blow hammer, depending on the type of
plastic used. Some of them are made from quite hard plastic.
Also, the dead blow hammer is really not designed for
heavy ‘‘whacking’’ on a relatively small object, like a knock-off
ear, so I’d bet they don’t hold up terribly well either. On the
other hand, I’ve been using the same lead mallet for over 15
years. It looks like hell, but still works just great, and has yet
to leave a mark.
<<<<<<<<<<
Larry,
I hope you read my previous post
pauls 67ots
Bjarn, I am quite able to hit the fender with the hammer no matter what
method I use. My knockoffs have learned that I’m not really serious
about removing them until I’ve hit the fender with the hammer at least
twice :-(.
Larry
<<<<<<<<<<<<
it’s not alum. as explained earlier it’s just a sturdy piece of sprinkler
( fire… not garden ) pipe, bent and bolted thru the adapter.
simple… fit behind the rear seat. but could be made shorter to fit above
the spare.
I’ve seen the one mentioned, made by a guy in DC. similar but he’s using
sme sort of studs so that the bar can b pulled out frm the adpater…
I’ll post a pic tomorow…
PAscal----- Original Message -----
From: “70 fhc Silver Bolide” warren.hansen@verizon.net
To: e-type@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 6:08 PM
Subject: Re: [E-Type] Best knock off removal tool?
In reply to a message from davchr sent Fri 25 Jul 2003:
Dave,
Item #1 may work – but I have heard that the wood (plywood?)
splinters pretty easily, and may not last for more than a few uses.
Item #2 would better be described this way: grabs the ears and
bends when you try to apply enough pressure to unscrew them. I
bought one of these when I switched from Series 2 ‘‘federalized’’
knock-offs to the earlier type. I have found a 4# lead hammer from
Moss Motors to work very well.
Pascal has fabricated a billet aluminum device for this job which
apparently works very well. It has a removeable handle that
permits it to be carried in the spare wheel compartment of his
2+2. (Picture, Pascal?)
Regards,
Warren
The original message included these comments:
I am sure that this has been discussed before. I really don’t like
beating on my knock offs with a lead hammer. I see that there are
at least two tools that will eliminate the need to beat them up.
Protective knock-off tool - fits over the tow ears and you beat
on the tool.
‘‘British Wheel Wrench’’ - grabs the ears and allows you to
unscrew them without beating.
Which one is better? I am leaning toward the wrench because it
eliminates the beating operation all together.
maybe… but they do tighten up on their own don’t they?
I just know that the first I took the car in for a tire change, the guy
chipped the fender with the hammer… so I had to do it and i was out after
taking all four off!
Pascal----- Original Message -----
From: “vrooomie” vrooomie@fastmail.fm
To: e-type@jag-lovers.org
Sent: Friday, July 25, 2003 8:21 PM
Subject: Re: [E-Type] Best knock off removal tool?
In reply to a message from Pascal Gademer sent Fri 25 Jul 2003:
If it takes 10 solid whacks to get’m off…the answer is
simple…they were put on too tight…In my years of Jag-whackage,
I’ve never smacked a fender (watch out, Tweety, now that I’ve
said THAT!!!) and with a good 5 pounder, it only take 3-5 whacks
and they’re OFF…like a cheap prom dress…
And, if I had an ‘earless’ car, there would be FLAMES comin’ out
my rear end to get eared knock offs on it!!!..
The original message included these comments:
problem withthe hammer isn’t the marks it left it’s the amount of energy
it
takes. sometimes they dont’ come off right away and aftert 10 hits in
the
hot sun…
–
Paul Wigton, whom Tweety rules!
Brighton, CO, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Note to self - Never let Larry change a tire on my car! :-)–
The original message included these comments:
Bjarn, I am quite able to hit the fender with the hammer no matter what method I use. My knockoffs have learned that I’m not really serious about removing them until I’ve hit the fender with the hammer at least twice :-(.
Larry
–
Ray Livingston
Santa Cruz, CA, United States
–Posted using Jag-lovers JagFORUM [forums.jag-lovers.org]–
Larry, I am sure you know this but in case you don’t
…
always lift the bonnet before whacking the front
spinners. You will find it reduces the risk of hitting
the car body quite dramatically. As far as the rear
spinners go, there is no easy risk reduction…ask me
how I know ;-(
I agree totally with the others who use only a lead
hammer. I have never marked my spinners with this
simple tool. Moss Motors sells one for around $20 and
they are readily available from other sources.
All the best
Ray Sharp
'61FHC
'71s2OTS-----------------
From: Jlkohler1879@AOL.COM
Subject: RE: [E-Type] Best knock off removal tool?
Bjarn, I am quite able to hit the fender with the
hammer no matter what
method I use. My knockoffs have learned that I’m not
really serious
about removing them until I’ve hit the fender with the
hammer at least
twice :-(.
Larry
<<<<<<<<<<<<
In reply to a message from Pascal Gademer sent Sat 26 Jul 2003:
Pascal,
I realized after sending the post that I had attributed the wrong
knock-off wrench to you! The billet aluminum one was made by two
guys out in Brooklyn who had a Series 2 FHC for sale when I was
searching for my car. They knew nothing about Jaguars, being
American hot rod owners before, but had bought the E-TYpe because
they thought it was cool. They got it without the knock-off wrench
and so they had improvised this really great looking billet
aluminum device to remove the wheels! (Maybe I should have bought
that car just to get the wrench! Nahhh!)
Regards,
Warren–
The original message included these comments:
it’s not alum. as explained earlier it’s just a sturdy piece of sprinkler
( fire… not garden ) pipe, bent and bolted thru the adapter.
I researched this topic and landed on this thread because I was getting nowhere with the supplied original brass/leather hammer or my 2 lb. deadblow hammer. I got a 4 lb. lead hammer off of EBay and got them off today. Took more than a few whacks as I was being very careful (and timid) not to hit the car by waling away with the hammer with full body strokes…I really don’t like the whole process. But, the 4 lb. lead hammer did the job and the hammer clearly looked like it lost the battle (how long do these last?).
And, too late (but no damage) I saw a post in this thread to lift the bonnet to remove the front hubs. What an obvious and elegant idea!
For the the best and most elegant knock off spinner tool go to Sarto Rocheleau’s website at knockoffspinnertoolcom. He makes tools for all kinds and sizes of wire wheel spinners. No more lead hammers and damage!
I made a couple of 5 lb lead hammers that make removal and installation a snap. They work much better than the 2 lb Thor and are easy to recast if need be.
Yes, from Lionel. I wrapped some brass strips on there with Gorilla tape as I was concerned about scratching. I think I am past the point of worrying about such details now - I’m into utility.
A lead hammer is the correct tool for spinners and not the copper ones. I think the factory supplied lead hammers in the original kits, no doubt someone with a genuine original kit may come along and verify this later. Lead by comparisons is softer so does not deform the metal like copper. Also you should never use to much force to tighten the spinners, here is an extract from a British wire wheel manufacturer which explains better than I can the rationale,
" Do not over-tighten spinners as this will damage the threads and ears and make them more likely to work loose
Spinners (or knock-on caps)
There are no recommended torque settings for spinners and the exact number of turns will vary from one vehicle to the next.
A spinner should be fitted with the wheel jacked up off the ground so that the hub, wheel and spinner are all centralised.
Apply the spinner by hand and tighten 3 to 3½ turns; give the spinner a couple of taps with the hammer; lower the wheel to the ground and give the spinner a couple more taps.
As long as the hubs are fitted correctly then the spinners will self-tighten and lock as the car is driving.
If you hammer the spinners too enthusiastically then you will deform the thread of the spinner and the hub and they are more likely to work loose.
Over-tightening also means that if you ever need to replace either the hub or spinner then you will also need to replace the other part as the deformed thread of the old part will not fit with the new thread.
If your spinners keep coming loose then it is probably because the hubs have been fitted on the wrong side. For example, the left hub goes on the left-hand side of the car as you sit in it, not on the left as you look at it from the front. "
A number of people involved with the restoration of wheels here in the UK that I have spoken with over the years have all been of a similar opinion, so I hope the explanation clarifies things.
Tony
Honestly I do intend to buy a lead hammer when I run across one at a meet somewhere but the dead blow doesn’t seem to care about the small surface of the knock off… so far. A side benefit is I swung wildly by a fraction of an inch once and all it did to my car was put a black skid mark on the fender, which I wiped off as soon as I looked around to make sure nobody was watching… I wouldn’t have been so lucky with any other type of hammer. I will say that I believe the hard rubber surface absorbs some of the shock that aids in getting these things loose. That’s why I intend to get a lead hammer as a back up but will always try with the dead blow first. It doesn’t scratch knock offs, might not scratch your fender 
